Of course everyone who cares about our United Kingdom – and I care passionately about our United Kingdom – is nervous

David Cameron

A survey by pollsters Panel last night showed the No campaign narrowly ahead on 52 per cent with 48 per cent for independence. An Ipsos MORI poll was even closer – 51 per cent for No and 49 per cent for Yes.

As the countdown began to polls opening at 7am, David Cameron admitted to nerves.

He said: “Of course everyone who cares about our United Kingdom – and I care passionately about our United Kingdom – is nervous.

“But I’m confident that we’ve set out how Scotland can have the best of both worlds – a successful economy with a growing number of jobs... combined with the ability of Scots if they vote No to have even more powers and even more say over how to run their own affairs in Scotland.”

On a frenzied last day of campaigning, the Yes and No camps appealed to the Scottish electorate to think deeply about their choice.

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown told a Better Together rally in a passionate speech: “The silent majority will be silent no more. We will build the future together.

“What we have built together, by sacrificing and sharing, let no narrow nationalism split asunder ever.”

He added that Scotland could face financial meltdown if it splits from the rest of the UK, warning of an “economic minefield where problems could implode at any time, an economic trapdoor down which we go from which we might never escape”. And he blasted campaigners for independence, saying: “We have had no answers. They do not know what they are doing. They are leading us into a trap.”

Scottish Nationalist leader and First Minister Alex Salmond dashed around Scotland in a helicopter in a final attempt to persuade waverers.

He said: “With a Yes vote we can deliver for Scotland real power – the power to choose hope over fear, opportunity over despair.”

Experts have warned that independence could spell disaster for Britain’s economy with investors withdrawing billions from the UK ahead of the vote.

MPs already fear that Britain will have been permanently altered whatever the referendum result.

Many MPs are furious that sweeping powers over taxation are set to be devolved from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood ­following 11th-hour attempts to stop voters swinging to the Yes camp.

Anger was growing last night at a decision by the three main Westminster parties to guarantee indefinitely extra state spending of around £1,400 per head of population to Scotland compared with England and Wales.

Tory backbenchers were last night plotting a revolt to vote against the subsidy in the Commons if Scotland opts against independence.

They were also planning to call for Scottish MPs to be stripped of their right to vote on matters that affect England and other parts of the UK.

Police in Scotland were braced for a massive security operation with concerns about possible unruly behaviour as pubs in Scotland will be allowed to stay open all night as the votes are counted.

There were also warnings that some nationalist rhetoric had whipped up poisonous sentiments that could lead to rioting, with Ukip leader Nigel Farage accusing the SNP’s Mr Salmond of “fuelling vitriol”.

Yes Scotland campaigning chief executive Blair Jenkins was “very confident” of a Yes majority” with campaigners working hard for every vote until polling stations close.

Addressing Yes campaigners in Perth on the eve of what he called “the most exciting day in Scottish democracy”, Mr Salmond claimed “people power” would win the poll. He said: “Tomorrow is the opportunity of a lifetime, a precious chance to leave our mark in the pages of history.”

In an apparent olive branch, he added: “To our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom, I say this: We don’t seek ­division, but rather equality. A new, better and harmonious relationship founded on our enduring bonds of family and culture.”

His words came as leading figures in the referendum debate chose our website Express.co.uk to appeal to the Scottish people in an exclusive video. The leader of the Better Together campaign, Alistair Darling, begged his countrymen not to rip apart the UK.

He told us: “This is for ever. If we vote to go, there’s no coming back.

“Leaving the United Kingdom and severing all our ties after 300 years of history makes no sense whatsoever.”

On the Yes side, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Deputy First Minister, told the Daily Express: “If we have access to our resources, to spend the fantastic wealth we have in our ­country on better childcare, better education and health services rather than on weapons of mass destruction that we don’t need, we can build a better future for our young people.”